Disqus - Latest Comments for Gakuranman

Re: House of the Iron Shutters

Gakuranman — Sun, 12 Mar 2017 21:47:36 -0000

No, it really is a problem. Certainly, a lot of vandalism happens from bored local kids and people who live nearby who stumble upon a place, but I've seen firsthand the downfall of a fantastic place simply due to its location being shared on the internet and it getting too much exposure - The Royal House. Jordy and I explored this amazing house and documented its history together and were extremely sad to see it covered in graffiti and vandalised more and more as time went on.

In Europe, it seems people actually take it upon themselves to trash a location and ruin the experience for others, far more so than in Japan. And with this country becoming more accessible, it's extremely important explorers remain vigilant about who they share information with.

Re: Fetishizing an Entire Culture Through Photography

Gakuranman — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 01:39:11 -0000

Plenty of actual Japanese speakers weighing in on this matter, and the majority of them are confounded as to why this is even an issue.

https://togetter.com/li/108...

Re: Time to shut down this modern-day minstrel show

Gakuranman — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 07:42:04 -0000

Great article Loco. You wrote an extremely well-balanced piece, which is a breath of fresh air from all the hot-headed journalists this week merely screaming and decrying the issue as 'never okay'.

While I think it's definitely insensitive and a poor decision from a group that supposedly love the culture, yours is the first article I've read that actually dug into why this might have happened and shown an understanding of the other way of looking at the issue.

A few reporters could learn a thing or two from you.

Re: The Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II Review, Chapter I: what’s new and what’s great

Gakuranman — Fri, 06 Feb 2015 13:25:52 -0000

This review blew me away in the detail you went into and user testing. It was enlightening to see the limitations on video (but promising for the E-M2, which I hope will fix them) as well as the shock that 1s handheld photos are actually possible. Amazing.

I have the E-M5 and while I doubt this camera will make me upgrade, the E-M2 will surely do so. Love Olympus for their constant improvements and innovation!

Re: Urban Exploration Photography – Urbex

Gakuranman — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 11:47:57 -0000

Some great points about urban exploration here. I really like the atmosphere in the photos you show, particularly with the light and dust in some of the images. I often find on my own explorations that the weather influences the final shots quite a lot.

A selection of my own haikyo adventures are here: http://gakuran.com/category...

Bright, sunny days are always great to shoot because of the colours, but many of my most memorable haikyo shoots are those done in less-than-stellar-weather because of the atmosphere they evoke. Often though, we're rushed to fit 2 or 3 locations in per day, and we end up missing great shots because of it. So your points about creating good lighting and taking time to properly experiment in locations is key to taking home winning photographs.!

Re: But Wait, I’m Speaking Japanese!

Gakuranman — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 21:16:08 -0000

Great point about people avoiding correcting your language skills. As a language student myself, I often want people to correct me (where socially appropriate) in order to improve!

Re: But Wait, I’m Speaking Japanese!

Gakuranman — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 21:14:49 -0000

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Best of luck to you in your studies :).

Re: But Wait, I’m Speaking Japanese!

Gakuranman — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 21:13:54 -0000

Tell me more about it :).

Re: But Wait, I’m Speaking Japanese!

Gakuranman — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 21:13:44 -0000

It doesn't seem to happen in any one place more than others, but in general, it seems to be older people rather than younger people who want to practice their English.

Re: But Wait, I’m Speaking Japanese!

Gakuranman — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 21:12:31 -0000

Haha. That's a great observation! Sometimes speaking Japanese puts such a look of relief on the other person's face I find myself struggling not to smile!

Re: But Wait, I’m Speaking Japanese!

Gakuranman — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 21:11:30 -0000

It's interesting hearing from someone on the flipside, whose mother tongue isn't English and has trouble using the language. I think the key here to smooth relationships would be to explain in (broken) English that you're native language is French and apologise. That way you can avoid embarrassing the other person and hopefully switch to Japanese. The main thing to watch would be to avoid coming across as defensive or angry (although it's easy to feel so!)

Re: But Wait, I’m Speaking Japanese!

Gakuranman — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 21:04:12 -0000

While it's a common gripe for students of Japanese, naturally not everyone will feel bothered by this issue :).

Re: But Wait, I’m Speaking Japanese!

Gakuranman — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 21:02:21 -0000

"With a slightly Tohoku-twinged accent" ;)

Re: But Wait, I’m Speaking Japanese!

Gakuranman — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 21:00:16 -0000

It's not quite that bad! While it can be annoying, it's easily avoided once you get better at the language and it certainly isn't because Japanese people think foreigners inferior to themselves. It has a tendency to feel that way before you know better, that's all :).

Re: What Would You Do? The ¥1000 That Is Causing A Stir

Gakuranman — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 10:44:53 -0000

This is certainly a possibility. Morals and social values are driven into people here from a young age (not that this is unique to Japan), so perhaps more than being a conscious moral decision on behalf of the individual, the act is already pretty much decided through conditioning.

Re: What Would You Do? The ¥1000 That Is Causing A Stir

Gakuranman — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 10:34:08 -0000

This is some great thinking! I definitely think you're onto an important point with this thinking. People have the luxury of living in a safe and rich community where the general standard of living is good. This limits the chance of desperation and the need to commit crime. Perhaps if we performed a survey, we'd see gaps in the results of an experiment such as this depending on different areas of Tokyo and other cities in Japan, where there are such gaps.

Re: What Would You Do? The ¥1000 That Is Causing A Stir

Gakuranman — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 10:13:11 -0000

Interesting view! Thanks for sharing. Local community values are definitely strong out here, especially the further into the countryside one ventures :).

Re: What Would You Do? The ¥1000 That Is Causing A Stir

Gakuranman — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 10:12:29 -0000

Would you mind elaborating? How and why do you think your mum taught you these values?

Re: What Would You Do? The ¥1000 That Is Causing A Stir

Gakuranman — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 10:09:36 -0000

Great story! What was the resulting split in insurance payments? Usually it's never completely one sided in an accident.

Re: What Would You Do? The ¥1000 That Is Causing A Stir

Gakuranman — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 10:08:42 -0000

I've always pictured US households as having strong family values. Do you think this is not the case..?

Re: What Would You Do? The ¥1000 That Is Causing A Stir

Gakuranman — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 10:07:50 -0000

That would be interesting indeed!

Re: 5 Signs You Haven’t Been In Japan Very Long

Gakuranman — Thu, 22 May 2014 10:35:29 -0000

Osaka is often said to have much more in common with other western countries. It's interesting to hear that jaywalking is somewhat of a norm over there!

Re: 5 Signs You Haven’t Been In Japan Very Long

Gakuranman — Thu, 22 May 2014 10:33:53 -0000

I haven't yet succumbed to wearing masks yet. Not unless I actually have a cold and will be working close with other people. It'll be interesting to see if that changes though!

Re: Urban Exploration in Japan: What is Haikyo?

Gakuranman — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 11:30:41 -0000

It's quite an adventure! Be safe and go with a friend if you do though!

Re: Three Simple Words for Building Trust in a Japanese Office

Gakuranman — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 06:49:29 -0000

This is actually a very valid criticism of the system. While there are many merits to be found in building better relationships with colleagues, the need for everyone to be informed of things and the need to consider each person's situation in relation to the project slows down progress. This is especially so in larger corporations and the public sector, like my previous job working at a city hall.